Defending champion Sofia Mulanovich was only able to defeat one Hawai‘i surfer and Melanie Bartels rallied from behind in both her heats on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the Roxy Pro Gold Coast at Duranbah Beach, Australia. The
Defending champion Sofia Mulanovich was only able to defeat one Hawai‘i surfer and Melanie Bartels rallied from behind in both her heats on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the Roxy Pro Gold Coast at Duranbah Beach, Australia.
The competition saw wave heights of 2 to 3 feet which allowed for rounds 2, 3 and the quarterfinals to run.
In the final heat of Round 3, Mulanovich (11.83) defeated Kaua‘i’s World Championship Tour rookie Alana Blanchard (6.70). Mulanovich took the first wave to take the early lead with a score of 4.17. She would go on to score and keep her higher scores of 5.50 and 6.63 for the win. Competing in the first Women’s Association of Surfing Professionals event of the year, 18-year-old Blanchard was only able to answer back with four sets of three-point waves.
Mulanovich advanced to the quarterfinals where she was beat by Bartels. The 26-year-old from Makaha, in Round 3, edged out South Africa’s Rosanne Hodge after trailing most of the heat. With two minutes left, Bartels caught a wave for 7.23 to push her over Hodge and earn the heat win.
Against Mulanovich, Bartels scored a late 8.97, a figure too high for Mulanovich to catch with a few minutes left. Bartels beat Mulonovich, 11.57 to 11.50.
O‘ahu rookie Coco Ho is also through to the semifinals.
The 17-year-old upset world No. 2 Silvana Lima of Brazil, 15.33 to 11.50 and advanced the quarters against Australia’s Rebecca Woods. Ho beat Woods, 15.34 to 7.23.
Ho and Bartels will now face each other in the Roxy Pro Gold Coast semifinals when competition resumes.
The men’s competition, the Quiksilver Gold Coast may finish by the end of the week.
